Foxconn offers Employees $1,400 to end their demonstrations and depart from "iPhone City"

The Apple supplier issued an apology, blaming a "technical fault" for the pay discrepancy. One or two months of pay are included in the deal.

In an effort to put an end to unrest at the workplace, Foxconn has offered workers a 10,000 yuan ($1,400) settlement, which has prompted freshly hired employees to resign and subsequently leave its iPhone assembly factory in Zhengzhou, central China. According to CNN, the reimbursement, which is equal to one or two months' worth of pay, comes after violent demonstrations broke out Tuesday over unpaid salaries and the poor working conditions caused by a rigorous corporate lockdown.

According to reports, the Apple manufacturing partner made the offer on Wednesday through a text message from its human resources division asking staff to "please return to your dormitories" and promising to uphold wage agreements. When employees agreed to leave their jobs at the factory, the corporation compensated them 8,000 yuan ($1,120), plus extra 2,000 yuan ($280) when they boarded buses to leave the building.

Following a COVID outbreak at the factory in October, Zhengzhou, widely known as "iPhone city," was required to lock down in accordance with China's stringent "zero-COVID" regulation. Foxconn initiated a recruitment campaign after workers began to leave, and over 100,000 people applied to fill the positions. The new workers were promised a 3,000 yuan (about $420) subsidy if they completed 30 days on the job, with a second 3,000 yuan bonus to be paid after 60 days, according to a document outlining wage packages reviewed by CNN.

When the workers learned that the first subsidy payment would be made on March 15 and the second would be made in May, the bonus payments were postponed until next year, and a protest broke out on Tuesday. One employee told CNN that the new hires felt taken advantage of because they had to work more hours to receive the bonus that had been promised.

Foxconn has since acknowledged that a misunderstanding led to adjustments in payment schedules. In a response to Reuters, Foxconn said, "Our team has been investigating into the situation and determined a technological fault occurred during the onboarding process." We promise that the actual remuneration is the same as what was agreed upon and indicated in the official recruitment posters, and we apologize for the computer system's entry error. The company's biggest client, Apple, has also commented, telling CNN that it is "working closely with Foxconn to ensure their employees' concerns are addressed."